Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by University of Louisville, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what University of Louisville, its conference, the state of Kentucky and the NCAA have published, linked under Sources and read on October 21, 2026. "Not published" means the school has not published it.
The rules at Louisville
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | "University of Louisville Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Policies", marked "Effective January 2022; Updated August 2024" (file created 2024-08-01) and posted on gocards.com. It says pay must be commensurate with work performed and based on fair market value, and that the activity must be completed to receive pay; says the University "is not a party to NIL activities", bars pay for athletic performance such as bonuses for starts or points, says athletics department staff may not pay athletes for NIL "In accordance with Kentucky's NIL Law and NCAA rules", encourages five hours of financial literacy training at the start of the first and third years, and lists penalties that may include restrictions on practice and competition. Interpretations go to a subcommittee of the NIL Advisory Board. Louisville's NIL page lists "NIL Policy" with an email contact but links no document, and earlier versions from 2021 and 2022 remain posted. The 2026-27 Student-Athlete Handbook (posted 2026-06-30) says athletes stay in compliance with University, ACC, NCAA, state and federal NIL rules | Louisville Athletics, NIL Policies (August 2024); NIL page; Student-Athlete Handbook 2026-27 |
| How deals are disclosed | NIL Go for noninstitutional deals of $600 or more within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2); Louisville's agents sheet (file dated 12.5.25) lists the athlete's responsibility as "Submit all noninstitutional agreements in NIL Go". The August 2024 policy has athletes disclose all NIL activities on the University's designated platform within five business days of the agreement "being executed or activity occurring, whichever occurs first", update royalty or sales-based deals at least every 90 days, and disclose any agent or other professional service provider within two business days. A denial may be appealed to NIL@gocards.com within five business days and is decided within seven business days by the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Compliance. Kentucky law separately has an athlete submit a potential third-party deal to the school, which has up to three business days to flag conflicts (KRS 164.6947(2)) | Louisville Athletics, NIL Policies (August 2024) and Agents/Professional Service Providers (12.5.25); NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27; /nil/college/kentucky |
| Banned categories | Kentucky law bars third-party NIL deals for sports betting, controlled substances, substances the athlete's association bans, adult entertainment, and products or services illegal for the athlete, and lets a school bar deals that conflict with its mission (KRS 164.6945(4)). Louisville's 12 "Prohibited Sponsorship Categories" include sponsorships that adversely affect the University's reputation; use University marks without a license; conflict with a University sponsorship or disparage a University sponsor; appear to be a University endorsement of a company, candidate or policy position; are obscene; involve adult entertainment; demean people on protected grounds; promote tobacco, marijuana or vaping, NCAA-banned or illegal substances, alcohol (unless the athlete is of legal drinking age), or gambling and sports wagering; or put a non-partner product in use during official team activities. An athlete in a barred deal "shall be required to terminate such relationship" | Louisville Athletics, NIL Policies (August 2024); /nil/college/kentucky |
| School marks and group licensing | The policy bars University intellectual property in NIL activity, including social media tags such as "U of L", "Go Cards", "Ls Up" and "L1C4", but lets athletes say verbally or in text that they are Louisville athletes. Its exceptions: deals pre-approved through Louisville Sports Properties' Learfield Allied program, uses with a multimedia rights sponsor approved by University Licensing, licensed "jersey-like" name and number merchandise approved in writing, and University-approved licensing programs, with the Fanatics jersey program given as its example of "a university-approved group-licensing program". Louisville's NIL page describes a Name and Number Apparel program on the GoCards shop and Fanatics for football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball and men's and women's soccer, and an adidas Affiliate program paying athletes commissions on sales through their links | Louisville Athletics, NIL Policies (August 2024); NIL page |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission lists the University of Louisville as a participating school for 2026-27, when the cap is "approximately $21.58 million per school". Louisville's 2026-05-04 release on the 1909 Society says members' gifts support areas including recruiting and retention initiatives, "including revenue-sharing opportunities"; in its 2025-05-22 release on adviser Andrew Brandt, athletic director Josh Heird credits him with help "structuring fair and sustainable student-athlete agreements". No Louisville statement of its revenue-sharing total or sport split was found. Kentucky law treats institutional agreements as personal information exempt from the Open Records Act (KRS 164.6947(7)) | Louisville Athletics, 1909 Society (2026-05-04) and Andrew Brandt (2025-05-22); College Sports Commission, Revenue Sharing and Participating Schools; /nil/college/kentucky |
| Collective or NIL group | Louisville's NIL page names no collective on 2026-10-21. Its "REP" tab once described the 502Circle as operating "independently from the University of Louisville", but that section is now hidden in the page code and not shown, and the 502Circle's former website forwarded on 2026-10-21 to a Louisville fan membership site, so the 502Circle's current status was not confirmed. Louisville's own ELEVATE program runs the CARDS NIL Exchange, an INFLCR directory where businesses and athletes complete deals, with "no transaction fees taken by INFLCR" because of Louisville's investment. On 2025-09-05 Louisville announced that Danny Wimmer Presents will make "a $1 million commitment over the next decade" to support its athletes in NIL, with athletes promoting its music festivals through social campaigns, in-person activations and community events | Louisville Athletics, NIL page and Danny Wimmer Presents release (2025-09-05) |
| Agents and representation | Louisville allows an agent, attorney, marketing representative or brand manager for NIL, but not to secure professional athletic opportunities. Its policy says an athlete agent working on NIL complies with KRS 164.6901 to .6935 and the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act and registers with Kentucky and with Louisville's Athletics Compliance Office; its May 2023 agent policy has agents register with both before any agreement, or within seven business days if the athlete reached out first, with Louisville deciding within 14 days whether to grant registration or ask for more information. Kentucky treats an agreement to negotiate NIL deals as an agency contract: the agent registers with the state, agent and athlete notify the athletic director within 72 hours, the athlete may cancel within 14 days, and a school may not bar an athlete from having an agent (KRS 164.6903, 164.6919, 164.6921, 164.6943(1)) | Louisville Athletics, NIL Policies (August 2024), Agent Policy (May 2023) and Agents/Professional Service Providers (12.5.25); /nil/college/kentucky |
| Compliance contact | Louisville's Office of Athletics Compliance; the 2026-27 handbook gives athletic.compliance@louisville.edu for NCAA rules questions, and the NIL policy gives NIL@gocards.com for NIL questions. NIL work sits with Louisville's NIL Services and Engagement staff | Louisville Athletics, Compliance page; Student-Athlete Handbook 2026-27; NIL Policies (August 2024) |
| State law | Kentucky lets a school or its affiliated corporation pay athletes under written institutional agreements, gives the school up to three business days to review proposed outside deals, bars five deal categories by statute and keeps NIL agreements held by public schools out of the Open Records Act (in force) | /nil/college/kentucky |
What is specific to Louisville
Louisville's NIL policy runs 17 pages and is detailed: a definition of fair market value as an arm's-length price, a ban on NIL posts that use University tags like "L1C4" or "Go Cards", a 90-day update rule for royalty deals, a two-business-day rule for disclosing an agent, a written appeal path with fixed deadlines, and a rule that athletes under 18 have parent or guardian consent. Its ELEVATE program pairs that with campus resources the NIL page lists: an NIL Advisory Board of athletics staff and faculty in media, contracts, intellectual property, visas and compliance; the Brandeis School of Law's Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, where law students support athletes with NIL opportunities; and a Sport Administration program mentoring athletes on personal brands. Louisville says its NIL department was named NIL Program of the Year at the 2025 Athlete Con. Some text lags the law: the 2024 policy says staff may not pay athletes "In accordance with Kentucky's NIL Law", which Kentucky changed in 2025 to allow institutional agreements.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the law decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about NIL at Louisville
Does Louisville pay its athletes?
The College Sports Commission lists Louisville among the schools sharing revenue in 2026-27, under a cap of about $21.58 million per school, and Louisville's 1909 Society release names "revenue-sharing opportunities" among the things its donors fund. Louisville has not published how much it shares or how it is divided.
What NIL collective works with Louisville?
Louisville's NIL page names no collective on 2026-10-21. An earlier section on the 502Circle, which it described as independent of the university, is hidden on the page, and the 502Circle's former website now forwards to a different fan membership site, so its current status could not be confirmed. Louisville's own CARDS NIL Exchange connects businesses with athletes directly.
How do Louisville athletes report NIL deals?
Louisville's policy has athletes report every NIL activity, paid or not, within five business days of signing or the activity, whichever is first, and its agents sheet (file dated 12.5.25) says all noninstitutional agreements go into NIL Go. The NCAA's NIL Go rule covers deals of $600 or more. Kentucky law also has the athlete submit a proposed third-party deal to the school, which has up to three business days to review it.
Can Louisville athletes use the Cardinal logo in NIL deals?
Not without an approved exception. Louisville's policy bars University marks in NIL activity, down to tags like "Go Cards" and "L1C4", except for deals pre-approved through Louisville Sports Properties, approved sponsor uses, approved name and number merchandise, and programs like the Fanatics jersey program.
Does an NIL agent need to register to work with Louisville athletes?
Louisville's policies say yes, with both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Louisville's Athletics Compliance Office, and its 2023 agent policy says before any agreement with an athlete. Kentucky treats NIL representation deals as agency contracts with a 14-day cancellation right, and athletes disclose their agent to Louisville within two business days.
Be your own agent. Leave.
